Join our campaign to demand relief for thousands of Social Security recipients still struggling to pay off their student loans.

September 23, 2015

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What’s Going On?

America’s student-loan crisis has gotten so bad that the debt that many Americans incurred in their youth is now following them to their graves. From 2005 to 2013, senior-citizen student debt skyrocketed from $2.8 billion to $18.2 billion.

For about 160,000 people, having student loans also means losing a portion of their Social Security check. Until 1996, it was against the law to garnish Social Security benefits to pay debts, but that protection was stripped for debts owed to the federal government. As a result, seniors and others who depend on Social Security have their benefits garnished for student-loan payments.

Learn More

Recently, Michelle Chen wrote about how, despite the rising cost of higher education, an increasing number of faculty at colleges and universities are cobbling together poorly paid adjunct positions. Earlier this year, George Zornick looked into Hillary Clinton’s plan for debt-free college and Zoë Carpenter covered Elizabeth Warren’s response to the Corinthian College closures. And back in May, The Nationjoined a coalition to deliver 240,000 signatures to Elizabeth Warren’s office calling for the cancellation of all student debt.

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